Winter active bumblebees

For most bumblebees species, winter is a time for hibernation. Indeed, queens can be expected to spend about half of their life in hibernation! But for the Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), winter can be just as busy a time as the rest of the year. In the warmer parts of the UK, fully active winter colonies of this species are regularly recorded, even when temperatures are close to freezing and there is snow on the ground. Read on to find out how to help them.

These plucky bees are feeding upon a few winter-flowering plant species such as mahonia (like the bee in the photo below), viburnum x bodnantense and winter honeysuckle. So if you live in England or Wales (especially the south) you may expect to see some bumblebees this winter. You can help them in your garden by planting any of those plants I mentioned.

Some people have got in touch with us to tell us that they have found bumblebees lying on the ground, appearing tired and unwell. These are most likely to be new bumblebee queens that have recently left the nest to either set up their own nests, or go into hibernation. Because of the scarcity of flowers in winter, these bumblebees sometimes use a lot of energy in flying, but don't have any food to replace that lost energy. These bees can be helped though, and the easiest way to do so is to make a sugar solution (50/50 sugar and warm water). Put this in a small saucer or plastic drinks lid, and place it near the bee's head (see the photo below). She should then lap this up, and she'll use the energy to heat her body up and fly off.

Bumblebees cannot be kept indoors for a long time, and the queens will need to be outside so they can hibernate or build a nest. So if you find any bumblebees, it's fine to give them shelter from very harsh weather in your home for a day or two, but they will need to go outside again eventually.

If you have spotted any bumblebees active this winter, you can report them to a study that is being done on this. You can find out how to report them by clicking here.